Saturday, May 18, 2024
Dana Collins-Malone is the owner of the facility and Scott Andrews is the general manager and the two have been running the facility for about eight years now.
Dana previously worked as a hospital administrator at a large veterinary clinic in Washington state and Scott made a visit there once and connected with Dana. The two then started doing dog rescues together, and one thing led to another and now the two are a couple. Dana has also started and formed two dog rescues and has rescued over 3,000 dogs.
They began to search for boarding facilities to run themselves and did not expect to end up in Texas.
“We were looking at probably seven to eight different boarding facilities and Texas was never really on our radar. We were looking in Montana, San Diego, Connecticut, North Carolina, and all of a sudden, this one in Texas came up and we just fell in love with it,” Scott said. “The facility already had the bones for an amazing facility, and we fell in love with the town and decided to take the plunge. We love the small town. We used to live in the country in Washington.”
The facility prior to their ownership was also a high touch facility and after the couple bought it, they made upgrades and created their business. The school typically boards about 30 to 50 dogs a day.
The building sits on seven acres and serves as a perfect play place for dogs. With a playground, a swimming pool, and toys of all kinds, there is no boring day for dogs.
Scott is very proud of their business because they accept any dog no matter what. Not many dog boarding facilities will take certain breeds or dogs with medical conditions.
“We’ve never turned any dog down. All of these dogs are our babies. We form relationships with every single dog that comes here,” Scott said.
A typical day for a dog at the facility consists of lots of loving, playtime, socialization and many naps.
The facility specializes in training as Dana and Scott are both certified behaviorists. The facility offers basic behavioral training, in-home training, and training for more aggressive dogs. There are no certain methods when it comes to the training of dogs. Scott noted all dogs are different meaning the amount of training needed and what the client wants achieved will vary the duration of training. Training costs vary depending on the time needed, and the in-home training consultation costs $250.
The facility boards dogs all year round for when owners need to go away and aren’t able to take care of their furry friend. Boarding costs are $65 dollars a night with all the facility amenities included.
One unique aspect of the facility is that they have a shuttle service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays that will pick pups up from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and then drive them to and from the facility. Local pickup takes place every weekday. On busier days two or three buses run and do pickups and drop-offs. Shuttle service costs vary based on mileage.
The school also offers a daycare service on occasion but typically focuses on the usual boarding and training dogs.
The only requirement for a dog to stay at the facility is to be current on their rabies, Bordetella, DHPP and canine influenza vaccinations. Bordetella and influenza can be given upon intake for a fee.
For more information and inquires visit caninefitnesscamp.com or email info@caninefitnesscamp.com or call 817-279-9336 to make an appointment. Visitors are only allowed by appointment.
